SCI-ART LAB

Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication

                                                                  Interactive science series

Superstitions:

Q: How can we get rid of our superstitions?

Krishna: By changing peoples’ faulty thought process. I will give an example.

When you lack critical thinking abilities and make wrong connections superstitions take root in your mind.

One of my friend's parents constructed a new house. As soon as the house warming ceremony was over, they shifted to their new house. But according to my friend's father, the house is giving them trouble! Why?

It seems the pundits they consulted told them that they 're facing difficulties because of the "Vaastu Dosha" of the house and asked them to perform some rituals.

I asked my friend what difficulties they are facing. 'My mother's health got spoiled after shifting to our new home. She developed diabetes and arthritis. Earlier she was okay', she replied.

'What is the age of your mother?', I asked.

'' 65" , she replied.

"Then, it is the old age that is causing her problems. Not the house. It just is a coincidence that the symptoms came out and are showing at the same time you shifted to your new house. You are making the wrong connections. Your house has nothing to do with the health of your mother ", I told my friend.

Two things can be considered here for the difficulties faced by them: The age factor and the new house. Instead of taking the real factor, i.e., the age which is the real culprit, they have chosen the unscientific route to mark 'house' as the factor!

That is how superstitions originate. With a faulty thought process. Can we change it and develop rationality and scientific analysis of the situations we are in or listen to people whose minds are still lodged in ancient times?

The choice is definitely ours!

Q: When did scientific method replace the common everyday superstitions that people had?  

Krishna: It did?! Not according to statistics. Majority of the people still have and follow irrational beliefs! You can include a part of the scientific community too to that majority segment!

Only if you are good at critical thinking, have the courage to go against the tide and fears, adopt scientific reasoning that stays with you 24X365X80, you can get rid of superstitions. How many people can do this?

Very few! This world is still irrational, man!

Q: Superstitions: what are the mis-beliefs or superstitious thoughts that are common in practice, but have proper scientific reason behind that?  

Krishna: None! Yes, superstitions are irrational beliefs and science doesn’t support them. If anybody says it does and gives strange explanations, they are going the path of pseudo-science. Period!

Q: How do superstitions take root and get lodged in our minds?

Krishna: When you lack critical thinking abilities and make wrong connections. I will give an example.

One of my friend's parents constructed a new house. As soon as the house warming ceremony was over, they shifted  to their new house. But according to my friend's father, the house is giving them trouble! Why?

It seems the pundits they consulted told them that they 're facing difficulties because of the "Vaastu Dosha" of the house and asked them to perform some rituals.

I asked my friend what difficulties they are facing. 'My mother's health got spoiled after shifting to our new home. She developed diabetes and arthritis. Earlier she was okay', she replied.

'What is the age of your mother?', I asked.

'' 65" , she replied.

"Then, it is the old age that is causing her problems. Not the house. It just is a coincidence that the symptoms came out and are showing at the same time you shifted to your new house. You are making the wrong connections. Vaastu of your house has nothing to do with the health of your mother ", I told my friend.

Two things can be considered here for the difficulties faced by them: The age factor and the new house. Instead of taking the real factor, i.e., the age which is the real culprit, they have chosen the unscientific route to mark 'house' as the factor! 

That is how superstitions originate. With a faulty thought process. 

Q: What type of superstitions does India have? How does one stop following such misbeliefs?  

Krishna: Lots of them. How does one stop following such irrational things?

We are helping people in doing so. Like this…

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Q: Why would you see dragonflies after a loved one dies?  

Krishna: It just is a co-incidence!

If you happen to be in a place where they have a home! Like water bodies. If you happen to be at the right time - usually spring, summer and rainy seasons. If you happen to tread in the arena of the right species for the place. If you happen to visit their home at the feeding time of a large swarm.

Usually in India cremation grounds are located near water bodies. So you naturally encounter lots of dragon flies in the place. There is no connection between death and dragon fly visit!

If you think there is a connection, it just is a superstition!

Q: What is the difference between a coincidence and luck?

Krishna: The difference lies in your thought process, perception and interpretation of a situation. If your perception says the co-incidence favours you, you feel it is good luck, if it doesn’t, you interpret it as bad luck. 

Q: Why shouldn't sweeping & mopping be done at night? Is there any scientific reason behind the superstition?  

Krishna: You can do these things whenever you want and find time to do them in today’s world like I do. I never follow these superstitions and do whatever I feel like doing whenever I want. That doesn’t effect me in any way! 

Q: Do early morning dreams come true? What is the science behind it?

Krishna: 

Very rarely and it just is a co-incidence if they do and your strange interpretation of things happening around.

Oh, yes, you can dream several things and work hard to make them true!  That is the science behind it :)

Q: Are superstitions doing any good to this world?

Krishna: NO! THAT IS AN EMPHATIC ‘NO’.

OKAY, some people might say superstitions give them some sort of ‘emotional support’ to them. I would say this is a ‘pseudo-support’ that might end them up in a messy and often dangerous situations. How?

People harm themselves, people around and the societies they live in with their irrational beliefs. Like this…

Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil...

Parents allow exorcist to kill daughter, rape body. Wanted to appease god for gold

https://in.yahoo.com/news/parent...

How To Get a Vaccine Religious Exemption

Baby death: Parents convicted over vegetable milk diet: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu...

Women throws coins into engine of a plane for good luck and safe journey but in fact endangering the lives of people on board!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/2...

Endangering others ‘ lives: Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

One can strengthen one’s mind with critical thinking to overcome superstitious beliefs. That is the right way to go.

Q: What are the real dangers of superstitions?

Krishna: 

Several. People harm themselves, people around and the societies they live in with their irrational beliefs. Like this…

Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil spirits

Parents allow exorcist to kill daughter, rape body. Wanted to appease god for gold

https://in.yahoo.com/news/parent...

How To Get a Vaccine Religious Exemption

Baby death: Parents convicted over vegetable milk diet: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu...

Women throws coins into engine of a plane for good luck and safe journey but in fact endangering the lives of people on board!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/2...

Endangering others ‘ lives: Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Q: Is it possible to explain my bad luck with a science point of view?  

Krishna: There isn’t anything called luck. It is just your perception about a situation.

When several factors decide outcomes, they follow the interplay of scientific rules and routes and exactly fit into the reaction realities. You have to register this in your mind to come out of the misery you are in. Watch it coolly and try to understand it. How a person survives a health condition or a catastrophe depends on the sum total outcomes of scientific factors occurring simultaneously. Other outside things have no effect whatsoever on it. Any connections you make between rituals/superstitions and the outcomes depend on your perceptions and experiences. A positive outcome either to you or others makes you stick with them. A negative result will make you attack them. But the net result doesn't depend on anything that is not related to it! And these unrelated factors are your beliefs, rituals, superstitions and myths.

Failures might occur in life. When they do, you should revisit your problem, analyse it thoroughly in an enlightened way and think you haven't found a proper solution to it yet and that's why you couldn't overcome it, then try to get one, increase your efficiency of the effort, plug the loopholes and go after it with all your might to defeat it.

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Q: Is breaking a mangalsutra a bad omen? I broke mine today, and I am very worried.

Krishna: This is what happens when superstitions condition your mind.

But don’t worry. There isn’t anything called a bad or good omen. It just is your interpretation of a situation you are in and when your mind loses control over the thinking process because of the fear brought by cultural conditioning of your mind, it becomes irrational.

Read these articles: They will make your mind stronger

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Q: Can an envious curse and bad wish from heart of evil person really cause bad luck or injury?  

Krishna: No, it doesn’t! Nobody has the power to do that. If any person can do that to you, you too can put an obstacle in its path to tackle it with your mind power!

Both look good in stories written centuries back. In reality, there is no chance of them occurring. So, don’t worry. 

Q: Does it bring bad luck if a bat enters into a house?  

Krishna: I am being asked to answer these questions over and over again.

There isn’t anything called bad (or good ) luck in the first place. It all depends on how your mind perceives and interprets a situation. If you are not confident about yourself and the situation you are in, you fear everything and try to make connections where none exists. Try to strengthen your mind, all this disappears.

Read these articles…

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

However, bats are responsible for certain diseases and you will have to be careful when you are near bats.

One of these diseases is Marburg hemorrhagic fever, which is found exclusively in Africa.

Viruses such as - Nipah (which causes Nipah virus encephalitis) and Hendra (which causes Hendra virus disease) - are also associated with bats.

Ebola hemorraghic fever. The virus that causes this disease is often referred to as the "cousin" of Marburg virus, since they are the only distinct viruses that belong to a group of viruses known as filoviruses. Like Marburg, Ebola is highly fatal and is found mostly in Africa. Recent studies indicate that, as with Marburg, bats are likely to be a natural source of this virus, although no Ebola virus has been isolated from bats.

Another group of viruses known as coronaviruses have been detected in multiple species of bats. Coronavirus infection can sometimes cause mild respiratory illness in humans, but these viruses were also implicated in the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Southeast Asia. While bats do not carry or transmit SARS, research has linked coronaviruses to bats in countries all over the world.

Rabies is perhaps the most well known disease associated with bats. Along with animals such as dogs, foxes, raccoons, and skunks, bats are one of the primary animals that transmit rabies.

So stop bats from entering your dwellings.

Q: Why neighbours refuse to give curd after evening? Is there any superstition involved in it? Or is it science? 

Krishna: You can come up with all sorts of irrational explanations if you fear everything around you and lose confidence and control over your life. There is no science involved in this belief.

Some people treat milk, its products and curd as Goddess Laxmi. They think money goes out with them if you part with them after sunset! Fear of losing money. Fear of not doing well in business. Unable to control your own money matters! Unable to comprehend the situation properly. Origin of superstitions.

Anyway, there is nothing to worry. I eat curd during night time, part with it when somebody asks for it and do all sorts of crazy things people tell me not to do. And I never suffered any consequence because of my rebellious nature. Infact I got rid of all my superstitions, fears and gained full control over my life.

So don’t follow others. Do what your mind says is the right thing to chase!

Q: What are some superstitions that are senseless according to science?

Krishna: All superstitions are irrational without any exceptions. Resorting to such beliefs is a psychological universal tendency connected with high chaos and low confidence . This article explains it in detail…

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Q: Is seeing a dead cat bad luck? I saw three in one month!

Luck is just your perception about a situation. When things get out of your control, you search for patterns and connect unrelated things to shift the blame.

Get rid of these superstitions.

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Q: How do I find if one is superstitious or not?

Q: Is believing in superstition fallacious?

Krishna: Yes, without a doubt. Superstitions are causing more harm than good. How? Like this…

People harm themselves, people around and the societies they live in with their irrational beliefs.

Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil spirits

Parents allow exorcist to kill daughter, rape body. Wanted to appease god for gold

https://in.yahoo.com/news/parent...

How To Get a Vaccine Religious Exemption

Baby death: Parents convicted over vegetable milk diet: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu...

Women throws coins into engine of a plane for good luck and safe journey but in fact endangering the lives of people on board!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/2...

Endangering others ‘ lives: Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Need more evidence?

Q:Are all superstitions totally, wholly untrue and irrational? Don’t we have any that were made to be beneficial in the right sense to us? 

Now let me answer your second Q. Don’t we have any that were made to be beneficial in the right sense to us?

Some people are mentally weak. They need some sort of external support without which they think they cannot work and succeed. They gain ‘some sort of’ mental support from following some irrational things ( I call them irrational because there is no rational connection between you winning a game and the ‘blue lucky dress’ you wear). It works like some sort of a placebo effect on them, ‘sometimes’. I stress the word sometimes because if their opponents too take the help of such placebos, they will not have any advantage over other side. These people also cannot think clearly and realistically.

On the other hand if you can increase your chances of winning by getting the correct scientific training to 100%, you can surely win! Knowing all the conditions to win and getting them increase your confidence levels by several fold. There is no scope for ‘sometimes’ here. The chances become ‘always’.

Well, you can ask me what if the other side too uses the scientific knowledge? Who will win then?

My reply: The ones that understand that knowledge correctly and utilize it to the maximum level possible will win. Knowledge will never let you down. Because everything in this universe runs on scientific principles. Use them correctly with full knowledge and confidence, you will never lose!

That is the right way of doing things.

Read these articles to gain more insights …

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

And some superstitions cause harm to the societies we live in. Like these:

Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil spirits

Parents allow exorcist to kill daughter, rape body. Wanted to appease god for gold

https://in.yahoo.com/news/parent...

How To Get a Vaccine Religious Exemption

Baby death: Parents convicted over vegetable milk diet: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-eu...

Women throws coins into engine of a plane for good luck and safe journey but in fact endangering the lives of people on board!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/2...

Endangering others ‘ lives: Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Need more evidence?

Don’t try to stick with them if you want to become stronger and more successful.

Get rid of them, totally.

Q: I am becoming very superstitious. What should I do to cure it?

Krishna: A few days back , a student wrote to me with similar problems. And these are my answers to him, which helped him and others like him a lot:

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

superstitions-don-t-have-any-science-behind-them#

superstitions

Q: What are some superstitious things that actually have meaning and related to science and logic?

Krishna: There are no superstitions that have a meaning and related to science and logic. Period.

Superstitions work completely opposite to science. People try to give them a spin and authenticate their irrational beliefs using science and logic, creating pseudo-science in the process. And people who don’t know the difference between science and pseudo-science think all that is true and get comfort eventhough their beliefs are highly irrational. Come out of this pseudo-world.

We are fighting this menace and some people are undoing all that we are doing.

Love Science, not its impostors!

Q: What is the logic behind superstition?
Krishna: You are asking us to explain rationality behind irrationality. Fine.

Believing in superstitions is somewhat a psychological universal tendency connected with high chaos and low confidence.

I read an absorbing research paper on this sometime back and wrote on it too. The study was done on fishermen.

When Trobriand (in South Pacific)Islanders went fishing their behavior changed, depending on where they fished. When they fished close to shore—where the waters were calm, the fishing was consistent, and the risk of disaster was low—superstitious behavior among them was nearly nonexistent. But when the fishermen sailed for open seas—where they were far more vulnerable and their prospects far less certain—their behavior shifted. They became very superstitious, often engaging in elaborate rituals to ensure success. In other words, a low sense of control had produced a high need for superstition. One, in effect, substituted for the other.

The highly competitive modern world is making people become less confident and they start depending on some start of external emotional support. That support, though temporary, comes from irrational beliefs if you are not mentally strong.

Read these articles that give more detailed explanations:

Q: How do I stop myself from being superstitious

Krishna: 

If you are really determined, yes, you can! But … there will be many ‘buts’ here, you cannot come out of the situation you are in just like that. There are several difficult steps to follow here.

Analyse first how strong you are mentally. Mental strength is absolutely necessary to get rid of superstitions. Because superstitions are associated with a psychological universal tendency connected with high chaos and low confidence.

You will have to come out of the cultural, traditional, religious, ideological and emotional conditioning of your mind - for that you need mental strength.

Then acquire lots of genuine scientific knowledge. If you have the right knowledge about several things, you will be able to analyse a situation using it instead of going the irrational explanation way that have no basis in reality.

Develop critical thinking. Just because you have knowledge doesn’t make you superstition free. You should be able to analyse the knowledge in a proper way and use it correctly. Read this article that tells you how to think critically: Critical Thinking

Once you develop critical thinking and follow it every moment of your life, you automatically go the rational way, instead of the irrational one. You yourself will be surprised with the results.

You will have to analyse each situation you are in thoroughly and correctly , try to understand it correctly and then try to solve your problems using genuine knowledge, not irrational one.

Many would ask me this Q and when I tell them how to go about it, they panic and run away. Human psychology is that difficult to control and not everybody can achieve the superstition-free status. But still I try to lecture people with the hope that at least some would be able to succeed.

Read these articles that would definitely help you in the process:

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Burning Q: Why are more and more young people who claim they are mo...

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Superstitions

Q: How do superstitions originate?

Krishna: I heard this story some time back ...

There was once a family that had a lot of cats with them. So when there was some religious ceremony at their house the cats would cause a lot of problem. So the head of the family took baskets and used them to trap the cats during the rituals. The kids saw this and when they grew up they too would trap the cats before the rituals.

Now several generations later all the cats died but since the children had grown up watching their elders trap cats as “part of the ritual” they went out caught a few cats and trapped them before performing the rituals. They continued with the so called tradition even though it was both useless and meaningless.

This is how rituals, customs, superstitions originate. Without thinking about them rationally, when  people just blindly follow them. 

Q: Do scientists have scientific superstitions?

If scientists follow superstitions, they cannot be called scientists.

Because being a scientist is a state of mind, not a profession! That state of mind involves critical thinking which removes all irrational thoughts and beliefs from a mind.

Some people who work in labs might have some superstitions. Then we can assume their minds are not working in the way they should. But you cannot call a superstition of these lab people ‘scientific’. There isn’t anything called ‘scientific superstition’. It is a fancy name some people give to authenticate their irrational beliefs.

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Burning Q: Why are more and more young people who claim they are mo...

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Superstitions

Q: Why are villagers mostly superstitious?

Reasons?

People told us that because of lack of education and ancient life styles made people superstitious.

But …

Believing in superstitions is somewhat a psychological universal tendency connected with high chaos and low confidence. Modern day life is creating such an atmosphere. How?

Find out here: 

Q: What is the science behind the ritual 'dhisti'?

Krishna: There is no science behind this superstition. Superstition and science work in completely opposite ways.

Don’t try to authenticate irrational beliefs using science creating junk science in the process.

You will never get a right answer to this question.

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Views: 827

Replies to This Discussion

654

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Burning Q: Why are more and more young people who claim they are mo...

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Superstitions

Krishna: Just by looking at him, no person can cause harm to another person, even if he is bad. There is no scientific evidence to say this is true. If it were true, our enemy countries would have caused harm to us just by looking at us. But still why do they use weapons instead of looks?

A person can cause harm if he has bad intentions and if those bad objective drives that person to act in a harmful way.

But still several people believe in these superstitions and do things to counter them. It is okay if they get personal satisfaction by following certain things. However, if these things harm others around? We will take action like this …

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Science's rules are unyielding, they will not be bent in any way fo...

Science and superstitions : How rational thinking can make you work...

Burning Q: Why are more and more young people who claim they are mo...

Superstitions don't have any science behind them!

Superstitions

RSS

© 2024   Created by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service